Pentagon probes video of US Marines urinating on dead Taliban

THE PENTAGON has launched an investigation after a video was posted on the internet which appears to show four US Marines urinating on the dead bodies of three Afghan Taliban.

The soldiers in the video (below) are clearly aware they are being filmed and even joke with the cameraman. One says: "Have a great day, buddy," while another jokes: "Golden like a shower."

The video, posted by Live Leak, has not yet been authenticated, but a military official told AFP that the helmet and weapon carried by one of the men suggests they could be members of an elite sniper team.

Genuine or not, the video is already being compared to the notorious photographs of prisoner abuse in Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison in 2004, which caused outrage across the Muslim world and beyond.

Pentagon spokesman Captain John Kirby said: "We are deeply troubled by the video. Whoever it is, and whatever the circumstances - which we know is under investigation - it is egregious behaviour and unacceptable for a member of the military. It turned my stomach."

Marine Corps headquarters at the Pentagon said in a statement that the episode would be fully investigated: "While we have not yet verified the origin or authenticity of this video, the actions portrayed are not consistent with our core values and are not indicative of the character of the Marines in our Corps."

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, based in Washington DC, has demanded that the culprits be severely punished. In a letter to Defence Secretary Leon Panetta, the organisation's director said: "If verified as authentic, the video shows behaviour that is totally unbecoming of American military personnel and that could ultimately endanger other soldiers and civilians. Any guilty parties must be punished to the full extent allowed by the Uniform Code of Military Justice and by relevant American laws."

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